Undercover reporters from The Guardian and ITV uncovered a series of potential safety breaches at the company’s West Bromwich site.

They allegedly found workers changing the so-called ‘kill date’ and the source codes on chickens, so as to artificially prolong their shelf lives. If there were an outbreak of food poisoning, this would have rendered those chickens virtually untraceable.

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Workers were filmed changing the kill-dates on chickens to artificially prolong the shelf life (Picture: ITV)

This makes the chicken untraceable if there’s an outbreak of food poisoning (Picture: ITV)

Reporters also saw workers putting chickens back on the production line after they had fallen on the floor, risking contamination.

Neil Parish, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, said they would hold the inquiry to make sure the UK has ‘the best poultry industry in the world’, adding that it would aim to find out why ‘the problem’ at the plant had not been uncovered sooner.

After the investigation, a 2 Sisters Food Group spokesperson told ITV News that food safety and hygiene is ‘the number one priority within the business’.

‘We also successfully operate in one of the most tightly-controlled and highly regulated food sectors in the world,’ they added.

Reporters went undercover at 2 Sisters in West Bromwich (Picture: Google SV)

The FSA also launched its own investigation into all 12 poultry factories run by 2 Sisters.

A statement said: ‘This inspection has not identified food safety issues on these premises, but it highlighted issues requiring management attention, for example in relation to some aspects of staff training and stock control.

‘We are working with the major retailers supplied by 2 Sisters, as well as reviewing information from various other sources.’

The inquiry will be held on October 25 and it is expected to last for one day.